I’m all for a lively debate in the Arena of Ideas. A healthy exchange of opinions is a welcome and worthy enterprise. Diversity is the watchword of the intelligentsia. So why is it that there is so much visceral, violent, vitriolic opposition to the very existence of individuals who hold views divergent from the liberal democratic party line? I recall when I was growing up, the “big word” of the day was “antidisestablishmentarianism”. People would impress one another simply by saying or spelling it! But even more amusing was its definition: “Opposition to the institution of opposing institutions”. Yet today’s left wing seems to be defined by this word!

Why is it that putting a pro-Bush bumper sticker on your car will almost guarantee your vehicle will be “keyed” or egged? Why is it that pro-Bush lawn signs disappear from yards? Why is it that service is refused to fast-food patrons wearing a pro-Bush button or T-shirt? Express a pro-religious (especially Christian) viewpoint about an issue, and see how quickly you get shut down. Seems like “diversity” and “tolerance” are fine for liberals when it comes to “alternative lifestyles”, the “Hollywood” morality, abortion, flag burning etc… but just let someone express a more right-leaning viewpoint, and they become ostracized, hated and persecuted. Where is the “tolerance”? Where is the value of “diversity”? Where is the COURAGE to openly debate the issues in the arena of ideas? Why is it that when their viewpoint is successfully refuted by reason, liberals resort to attacking the individual and character assassination? It all seems quite immature and childlike.

Ask any liberal why they’re voting for Kerry. It’s actually laughable how predictable the answer will be. Not one in a hundred will answer with any positive statement about Kerry, his vision, his agenda, his plan, his character, his record or even his qualifications to be president! It is almost a certainty that the answer will be that he’s the “Anyone but Bush” candidate!!! Why is Bush so hated? He’s not even a real right-winger! He’s created angst amongst conservatives with his spending, with his expansion of the federal government, with failing to tighten the porous border with Mexico, and other policies which would tend to make him friends on the left! Is it simply sour grapes over the hanging chads of FL in 2000? Or is it more empirical than that? Is it simply that Liberalism is LOOSING the hearts and minds of America, and the liberals know it and are desperate to hang on to their former position of elite power and “mainstream” momentum? The “liberal media” is no longer the monolithic and monopolistic voice it once was. The internet, talk radio, Fox News etc have provided an alternative source of information… and American people have responded! The “Silent Majority” is no longer silent… and guess what: It’s also truly the majority!!! Slim though the majority may be, the left is on the lighter side of the fulcrum, and it’s KILLING them!

Ever since FDR, the left had the power. They controlled congress for 40 years, until the “Republican Revolution” of ’94. The media was firmly in their grasp. The liberal vision and agenda for America was humming along swimmingly. But the sleeping giant of the true mainstream American slowly staggered awake as they watched the Clinton Administration! Talk radio, the Internet, Fox and other “new media” gave them an alternative voice, and they began to speak up. Suddenly they found they weren’t the “odd duck” holding views that were so “off”. They were, in fact, in line with many, many others who held similar views. It wasn’t “weird” to hold conservative or (gasp) Judeo-Christian principals. In fact, it was far more mainstream than the elite media wanted to admit or even ALLOW! And hence the power of the elite left began to erode. As their power and influence began to wane as sand thru their fingers – and futility and frustration began to replace their presumptive agenda – desperation and disappointment have engendered bitter hatred of any who hold an opposing viewpoint. And this from the very people who claim to be the standard bearers for tolerance, diversity and acceptance!

Q: My PC was running really slowly recently, and my antivirus said I had the SASSER virus. I don’t open email attachments, and I live alone so no one else uses my machine. How did this happen?

A: Just as PC users are beginning to comprehend the dangers of opening email attachments, and are beginning to realize that antivirus software IS a worthwhile investment… a new breed of worm is wriggling its way thru the internet WITHOUT the use of Email at all!

We’ve all become aware of the more common virus/worm infection process, whereby an infected PC will start sending infected email attachment files to every email address in the infected machine’s addressbook. We all remember Melissa, I LOVE YOU, Sobig and other recent viruses spreading thru Email. Recently, however, a new worm, known as the SASSER virus, has begun spreading WITHOUT using Email as the method of distribution. Instead, it exploits a vulnerability in Windows machines which leaves a backdoor open to spread directly via the internet connection itself!

Without getting too technical, each machine attached to the internet has an internet address (IP Address). A machine infected with SASSER becomes an unwitting agent of the virus – itself searching the internet for vulnerable IP Addresses. When an unprotected address is discovered, the infection is directly sent to that address. No Email is sent… no attachment need be opened! All that is needed to become infected is to be connected to the internet with a vulnerable machine! Once your machine becomes infected… it then begins searching the internet itself for other vulnerable machines to transmit its infection to. As this search process utilizes your system’s processor and memory resources as well as generates internet traffic using bandwidth – you may well notice a significant reduction in the performance of an infected machine. It will run slowly.

There is good news. First, the alleged author of this worm was arrested in Germany on May 7. More importantly, Microsoft has released a patch to close this vulnerability – and machines that are up to date with Microsoft updates are protected against infection. Unfortunately, most users are either blissfully unaware of Microsoft Updates and how to apply them… or are woefully remiss in keeping them current. We hope to make a dent in this situation with this article!

At least monthly, you should point your browser to http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com and to check for updates you need. Note that the first time you visit this site, you may have to download a small file to make the site work. A security window will come up, and you should click yes to allow the download. Shortly after, you’ll be presented with a list of “Critical Updates”, as well as “recommended updates” and possibly driver updates as well. Download ALL critical updates! (Note that occasionally an update must be downloaded separately from all others. In this case, download it and RETURN to the windows update site to pick up the rest after restarting your machine).
Keeping your machine up to date with the patches will prevent infection from the SASSER virus… but what if you’re already infected?

Several AntiVirus Software vendors make a standalone or online scanner available to detect and clean some of the most common infections. I personally recommend a utility known as “Stinger” by McAfee. It can be downloaded from www.mcafee.com and will detect and clean 40 of the most common recent viruses. It is NOT a replacement for a full blown antivirus suite installed and updated… but it will help you out of a crisis.

To keep yourself as protected as possible on the internet, follow these recommendations:

1) Purchase and install a quality AntiVirus suite. McAfee and Norton are the most well known and popular – however Sophos, PC-Cillin and others also make respectable products. Then don’t just forget about it. Make sure you UPDATE it frequently, and RUN it weekly. Most suites will allow you to schedule scans to run automatically, and this is wise.
2) Install a Firewall. McAfee’s suite includes one, though I personally like Zone Labs product, ZoneAlarm – which can be downloaded FREE.
3) Run Windows Update at least monthly
4) Remember that even if an Email comes from someone you know – it can carry an infected attachment. Exercise caution before opening attachments and be especially suspicious of files ending in .exe, .bin, .scr, and .zip file extensions. A good rule of thumb is that if you are not EXPECTING a file, you can probably live without it!
5) Turn off the PREVIEW function of Outlook you use it. Some infections do not require you to OPEN an email; simply previewing it in the viewer is adequate to spread the infection.
6) Have your system evaluated and optimized by a professional at least twice a year.

Doug Edelman is a professional Network Engineer/Tech Support Specialist and is the owner of Edelman Computer Services – serving home users and small businesses since 1996. He holds industry certifications from Novell, Microsoft and CompTia and has taught PC Maintenance & Repair and Networking Fundamentals at St Charles Community College. He can be contacted at doug@pc-fixer-stl.com and you can visit his website at http://www.pc-fixer-stl.com

Introduction“Kids, What’s the matter with kids today?” sang Paul Lynde in Bye Bye Birdie. And for successive generations before and after, the question’s been asked by the parenting generation. And yet, today, we are seeing an alarming trend amongst our Gen Y kids in terms of their respect for authority, their general lack of parental guidance, their general rebellious nature. The battle cry of our teens and tweens is “Challenge All Authority!” Am I ascribing these characteristics to all kids of that age group? Of course not. Yet no one can watch the news these days or walk the mall without being confronted with the fact that in all too many cases, our kids fit this description. Why is this crop of kids so violent? So argumentative? So at war with the world. So at war with itself?

Few dare ask why. Fewer still venture a hypothesis to answer that question. Some meekly offer, “It’s the parents – they don’t control their kids.” But this is inadequate and lame. Many GOOD parents TRY to exercise their authority and to express their caring parental guidance, but are at a loss as to how to do so effectively. I am here proposing that the answer may lie in the seemingly lost parental tool of Enforced Futility.

Remember back when WE were kids. Remember the boundaries that were drawn for us. WHY didn’t we challenge the really big ones? Why did we DO what we were told when our parents gave us their LAST WORD on a subject? Because we KNEW it was FUTILE not to. We weren’t going to win. This parenting generation seems to have lost the ability, or the will, to take that LAST WORD stand and to make absolute futility a reality in the minds of their kids.

GASP! I hear some of you saying, “How harsh!!” Not really. Please read on, and I’ll explain.

Random HopeNow I’m not one to quickly affiliate myself with behaviorist psychology – ascribing to mankind the traits of animals very freely – however, one of B F Skinner’s most famous experiments with rats illustrates my point rather well. Skinner put rats into apparatus essentially consisting of a box with a lever. He rewarded the rats when they pressed the lever. When he rewarded every lever press, the rats pressed the bar fairly frequently. When he never rewarded the behavior, it was eventually extinguished and they ceased to try. One particularly interesting part of the experiment involved RANDOMLY rewarding the pressing of the lever, while ignoring the lever press most of the time. This produced the most continuous and incessant pressing of the bar. The random hope that was generated in this scenario stimulated the rats to KEEP TRYING!

In the same way, we see the same essential behavior being borne out in humans every day in the casinos. The random hope of the jackpot keeps thousands pulling those slot machine arms. The rational mind tells them that the odds of making a profit are against them – but they keep feeding the machine coins. Why? Because every once in a while, someone hits a jackpot! And so it is with our kids. Why do they keep whining and complaining and challenging? Why is NO never NO for them? Because our parenting generation is afraid to make a confrontation and take a stand, ENFORCING FUTILITY. We SOMETIMES will cave in. We provide that random hope.

Am I saying that our parenting generation never lays down the law? NO. I’m saying that they haven’t set up that place where the child knows it’s useless to continue because there is no random hope. Am I saying parents should be tyrants never exercising flexibility? Absolutely not! But there needs to be a distinction between parental flexibility and absolute boundaries. I believe I can offer a tool for that.

The Futility PhraseA simple phrase is devised to communicate that “That’s my final word on the subject – There is no negotiation. There is no compromise. There is no modification. Each family will choose its own phrase to suit its personality. Perhaps it is the Neanderthal sounding “dzzzzt” or maybe you prefer a deific “I Have Spoken”. Not your style? How about something more on the kids’ level like “F.I.” (stands for Fo-Get It!). Fan of Star Trek? How about “Make it So”. Whatever you choose, when you use it, there is NO compromise, NO turning back. And once you start to use it, and your kids begin to understand that this phrase means, “Give it up – you ain’t gonna win”, you’ll begin to see results.

The Flip-SideRemember, too, that kids have a spirit which is not to be crushed. We as parents need to allow flexibility within our boundaries. The kid raised with CONSTANT futility will become damaged. We must temper our need to control with their need to explore their own options. In another experiment, dogs who learned futility by being subjected to inescapable shocks when put into a closed cage and after ringing a bell, simply trembled in fear when put into open cages which they could leap out of, and the bell was rung. They had learned UTTER futility. This is not what we wish to instill in our kids. An excellent book outlining the counterbalance is called Learned Optimism. It should be easily found in any library.

Viruses and spam have long been an annoyance to both businesses and private Internet users, but the more recent spate of net-threats has expanded cyber-security issues well beyond the corporate IT world and into the private net surfer’s home turf. When it comes to the Internet, “Homeland Security” really starts at home! Whether it’s slowing your machine to a crawl, or inundating you under a sea of unwanted ads or porn, or putting you at risk for identity theft – no web surfer can afford not to defend against today’s threats.

Most everyone is familiar with Viruses and Spam, so we’ll focus on the newer threats:

Trojans/Trojan Horse: A trojan is a bit of malicious code, which finds its way onto your machine and surreptitiously runs a program much like a virus. The primary difference between a virus and a trojan is that a virus replicates itself and infects other machines with which you have contact. A trojan is not self-replicating. Just like the Trojan Horse of ancient Greece… they are usually presented as a “gift”, then once invited inside – they open the gates from the inside to allow invaders in! Often, they’ll come as the unwelcome payload along with a seemingly useful utility like a “clock synchronizer” or a Web Search Toolbar. Amazingly, sometimes they’ll even arrive as a supposed spyware CLEANER! The best rule of thumb is to NEVER accept ANY download you didn’t actively seek! A popup ad should be closed (click the x in the upper right corner) without clicking on the ad or any button contained on it! If you get a popup warning you that you have spyware on your machine… don’t be lured into downloading their advertised “fix”. There are 2 excellent free tools which can detect and clean spyware from your machine: Spybot Search & Destroy, and Ad-Aware. Both are reputable and safe, and effective if you keep them updated. They can be easily located and downloaded from the net.

Spyware/Malware/Adware: These are terms for net-pests which will usually arrive in your machine as a trojan, and are classified by their intended purpose. Spyware reports back information to “home base” and is a privacy threat. Malware will disrupt your productivity and rob your system resources. Adware will open your gates to allow intrusive advertising such as popups.

Browser Hijack: A hijacker will take over your Browser, redirecting your homepage and feeding you more popups than you can handle. Often they’ll actually destroy your ability to effectively use the net! This is because they open your doors to such ads, then advertise, “Here’s an open door” and anyone and everyone who wants to can feed you popups!

Phishing: By using social engineering and playing on the natural behaviors of the uninformed, con artists are gleaning personal information for identity theft by impersonating legitimate websites. The common scenario: you receive an email which looks like it’s from Ebay, Paypal, your bank or some other trusted e-commerce site. They tell you they need you to update your information, perhaps due to some expiration or error. The email provides a link which when clicked on brings you to a website that looks like it’s Ebay, Paypal, etc. – but isn’t! It’s a clever counterfeit designed to take your information so it can be used for fraudulent purposes. The easiest way to detect these is to hold your cursor over the link on the email till the link’s address pops up. If it points to anywhere else than www.ebay.com, www.paypal.com and the like… it’s a fraud!

What can you do to secure your PC?

A number of tools are needed to adequately protect your machine against today’s threats. Naturally, an up-to-date antivirus program is essential, but inadequate alone. A firewall should be installed and running whenever you’re online. Windows XP has a built in firewall, but must be turned on (XP’s soon to release update, SP2, will have it turned on by default). ZoneAlarm is excellent and has a free version downloadable from the web. McAfee and Norton also make firewall products.

A spyware killer is also needed. As mentioned earlier, Ad-Aware and Spybot are free and effective.

Make sure to keep your machine patched with the latest updates from Microsoft Update. There are worms like Sasser out there, which will find you and infect you without ANY action on your part, beyond being online with an inadequately patched machine. There is a link to Windows Update on your Start Menu, or you can go to http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com.

Even with these tools installed, updated and running, it is wise to have a professional look at the machine periodically, and to optimize it.

Doug Edelman is a professional Network Engineer/Tech Support Specialist and is the owner of Edelman Computer Services – serving home users and small businesses since 1996. He holds industry certifications from Novell, Microsoft and CompTia and has taught PC Maintenance & Repair and Networking Fundamentals at St Charles Community College. He can be contacted at doug@pc-fixer-stl.com and you can visit his website at http://www.pc-fixer-stl.com